Martel wins stroke-play title going away

ROCHESTER — Mike Martel got a nice round of applause after putting out on the 18th hole to conclude a dominant New Hampshire Stroke Play Championship late Thursday afternoon.

It could be the last cheer he gets at this event.

Martel closed out a record-breaking week with two more stellar rounds at the Stroke Play at Rochester Country Club, including a 9-under par 63 in the morning that broke the course record he’d tied one day earlier.

His final-day rounds of 63 and 67 earned the 24-year-old Nashua CC member a 10-shot win over runner-up Damon Salo, his 72-hole score of 20-under shattering the low score to par in this 18-year-old event by nine strokes.

Good friends Martel and Salo, 24, grew up together in New Ipswich and were also the last two players standing at last year’s Stroke Play, which Martel won on the third sudden-death playoff hole.

“Losing in a playoff, that kind of hurt; it was one hole,” said Salo, a member at Bretwood GC, who began the day one shot behind Martel and finished nine shots clear of third-place finisher Jim Cilley. “For him to shoot 20-under par for four rounds (this year) -- that’s just pretty damn solid.”

Martel, who won his second State Amateur last month, said he plans to turn pro this fall, his game in the best shape it’s ever been.

“I drove the ball well all week and my irons were so good I could put myself in the right spots,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot better.”

Two-time champion Craig Steckowych of Portsmouth CC ended up as the top local finisher, his four rounds of 74 leaving him in a tie for eighth, 28 shots behind the winner.

Mike Mahan of Cochecho CC (69-73) and Jamie Ferullo of Rochester CC (69-76) played well Thursday and were another shot back in 10th, while home-course member Scott Rowell, who began the day in sixth place, shot a pair of 77s to tie for 12th.

Afterward, competitors marveled about what Martel had done, having played the course just twice prior to the tournament. He also became the first repeat winner in the Stroke Play since another Nashua CC member, Phil Pleat, won in 2002 and ‘03.

“For someone who doesn’t know it very well, it’s incredible,” said Rowell. “There are spots on every hole where you can miss it, but you have to miss it in the right spots. … To stay locked in like that for that length of time is really unbelievable.”

Martel played his last 54 holes in 22-under par and his last 59 holes without making a bogey.

If it was shaping up to be a two-person race between Martel and Salo at the start of the day -- though collegian Matt Paradis couldn’t be counted out -- it was a one-person race after Martel’s morning masterpiece. Starting on No. 10, he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 12th and then scorched the front, starting birdie-eagle-birdie and coming in with a score of 29.

“The first few holes, my mindset was match play,” said Salo. “But he really took it to me and I had a lot to get back.”

His lead 10 after the morning round, Martel cruised in the afternoon. He and Salo both shot closing 67s.

“I felt good about my game, obviously, but I was trying to forget about that 64 (on Wednesday) and move on to today,” said Martel.

Other local players who earned the right to play twice on Thursday were Eric Evans of Portsmouth CC (78-73, T14th), Peter Keilty of Portsmouth CC (76-76, T16th), Harvin Groft of The Oaks (76-76, T21t), Ryan Quinn of Breakfast Hill (73-79, T23rd), Brett Wilson of Golf Club of New England (76-79, T26th), Tom Hixon of Wentworth By The Sea (82-78, T32nd) and Jason Foote of Rochester CC (79-88, 39th).

It was the first time Rochester CC has hosted this event.

“It was a pretty good test for almost everybody in the field,” said tournament director Greg Howell during the awards ceremony, a chorus of “almost” getting directed back at him.

It was the rounds of 64 and 67 shot by Martel and Salo, respectively, on Wednesday that set this tournament on its track. As Thursday went on, it got tougher for the rest of the field to keep them in view.

“Seeing the two low scores come in (Wednesday) after I left was a little deflating,” said Rowell. “You knew you probably weren’t going to catch those two guys in 36 holes the way they were playing.”

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